Friday, March 11, 2016

Donald Trump's undeniable narcissism is a bit of a worry

Interesting that many people who were originally wary of Trump -- or even a bit frightened of him -- are starting to warm to him.

My own feeling is that he's a real breath -- or maybe a gust, even a storm! -- of fresh air. He embodies the frustrations millions of people across America -- not to mention the entire western world -- have with political correctness. He's mad as hell and he's not gonna take this anymore!

Still, there's something that I (and clearly a lot of other people!) are worried about and that's his psychological make-up. Several high profile experts in psychology, including Sam Vaknin, have said he exhibits classic symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder. In this interview he expresses some serious concerns about the front-runner for the Republican nomination. He's pretty convincing.

That said, it's not like Trump is the only narcissist in politics. That particular field is chockas with 'em! Vaknin himself says Obama appears to be a narcissist. And here in Oz we have Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd, both of whom have been labeled as such.

It's hardly surprising, of course. Narcissists by definition see themselves as exceptional, and are therefore more likely than most to seek out positions of power.

That doesn't mean all pollies are afflicted with this disorder, though. Some are drawn to the occupation more out of a balanced and sincere desire to do good. I'd say Tony Abbott is one such person -- though I'm sure leftie luvvies wouldn't see it that way at all ... But then they suffer what I would call a kind of political narcissism, and project this onto their hate figures.

1 comment:

  1. Scott Adams raised the issue of Trump as narcissist too, but I don't think he came to quite the same conclusion.
    http://blog.dilbert.com/post/139910704581/how-to-spot-a-narcissist-trump-persuasion-series
    It's certainly a bit harsh to compare Trump, who has actually done a few things successfully, to the local useless drivelers. Rudd and Turnbull both aspired to the top spot in Canberra; neither had a clue what they were going to do once they'd achieved that.
    Okay, so Rudd monstered a lot of his staff. But that's not something I'd put on MY resume.

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